Funeral services for Richard A. ‘Dick’ Daigh, 87, Lawrence, will be at 2 pm Wednesday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, with Pastor Larry Baldridge officiating. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery. Mr. Daigh died Sat., Apr. 4, 2015, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
He was born Aug. 8, 1927, in Iola, Kan., the son of Floyd E. and Pearl M. Beach Daigh. He graduated from Russell High School, and later served in the United States Navy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Kansas University, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Dick worked at DuPont from 1958 to 1960, and then joined Hercules, Inc. at their Allegheny Ballistics Laboratory in Cumberland, Maryland from 1960 to 1966. He then transferred to their Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in DeSoto, and retired in 1992 as a mechanical engineer after 32 years of service, riding nearly every day from Lawrence to DeSoto on his motorcycle. Dick was a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Elks, both of Lawrence. He was a longtime member of Trinity Lutheran Church, where he served on the church council and engineered their sound system. Recently he was a member of Free Methodist Church. He enjoyed Ham radio, RC flying, spending time in Colorado, and volunteering for the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.
He married Marjorie Anna Dowers on Apr. 30, 1950, in Lawrence. She preceded him in death on Dec. 16, 2004, as did his parents, a brother, Bob, and a daughter, Diane, in 1958. Survivors include two sons, Eric Daigh, Phoenix, and Matt Daigh and wife Bonnie, Eudora; two granddaughters, Kelly and Kristi Daigh, Eudora; a brother in law, Neil Harris, Lawrence; a niece, Toni Barbaro, Bullhead City, Ariz.; and his special caregivers, Dr. Eric Huerter and Bailey Stuart.
Friends may call from 9 am to 8 pm Tuesday at the funeral home, where the family will receive them from 6 to 7:30 pm. In lieu of flowers. memorial contributions are suggested to Free Methodist Church or Lawrence Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, in care of the funeral home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044.
